i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. >>> legislators in the u.s. have filed to meet the year end deadline to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. members of the senate agreed to extend tax cuts for middle income earners and raise taxes on the wealthy but the house of representatives decided not to vote on the bill on new year's eve. the house is expected to resume talks quickly in the new year to avert a serious impact from tax hikes. president barack obama gave a conference earlier on new year's eve. he said he was optimistic that senators could reach a compromise. >> now today it appears that an agreement to prevent this new year's tax hike is within sight. but it's not done. there are still issues left to resolve, but we're hopeful that congress can get it done. >> senate republican leader mitch mcconnell said the two parties had reached an agreement on taxes. they are believed to have agreed to extend tax cuts for middle income earners. people earning more than $450,000 per year will see their taxes go up. that's far higher than obama's original p